Wanyonyi storms Olympics 800m final in Paris
Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya crosses the line to win the semi-final.
Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi qualified for the final of the men’s 800 metres race at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on Friday, August 9, afternoon.
The 2023 World Athletics Championships silver medalist will renew rivalry with Canada’s Marco Arop who is also the reigning world champion, and Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati.
Competing in the second semi-final heat on Friday, Wanyonyi took the lead and controlled the race from start to finish, winning in one minute and 43.32 seconds ahead of USA’s Bryce Hoppel who clocked 1:43.4, and Max Burgin from Australia who finished third in 1:43.50.
Wanyonyi will compete in the final on Saturday night from 8.05pm (Kenyan time). Kenya’s Emmanuel Korir, who won gold at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021, did not qualify for this year’s quadrennial championships.
Wanyonyi claimed silver at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, behind race winner Arop of Canada.
Currently, Wanyonyi has the second fastest time in the world, 1:41.58, over the distance. Algeria’s Sedjati is the fastest this season with 1:41.46.
In the second heat, two-time Commonwealth Games champion Wycliffe Kinyamal of Kenya failed to qualify for the final after finishing third in 1:45.29 in a heat won by Canada’s Arop in 1:45.05.
Home runner Gabriel Tual finished behind Arop in 1:45.16.
